Day 1: Hanoi- Train Tour- Countryside- 60Km (L,D)
8:45, your tour guide will pick you up from your hotel and transfer you to the railway station to purchase tickets for the train ride. You will take a seat on the train with the locals for an hour, passing by small and tall houses, and the iconic Eiffel bridge that was built during the French colonial time crossing the Red River. You’ll also see green fields and ponds, and other countryside views.
10:30, you will get off the train and continue with other activities with your tour guides.
11:00, you’ll visit a wood carving village which used to excel at producing objects of worship and ritual furniture such as thrones, incense tables, couches, and statues. Nowadays, customers are more interested in decorative items, including the three statues of happiness, prosperity, and longevity, the Maitreya, and animals representing happiness and luck. The carving process demands considerable sophistication, dexterity, and attention to minute details such as how to arrange the wood grains. The products embrace not only individual creativity but also the cultural traditions of the village.
11:45 – 12:15, you’ll visit the Temple of Literature which became the examination site for the whole region and a training center for scholars from all over Vietnam from the 16th century. It is evidence of the development of Confucianism and academic examinations in the past, and was the site of the first 12 doctors and 600 scholars of Vietnam.
12:30 – 13.00, you’ll enjoy a local lunch and have some time to relax before visiting the next two places.
13:30 -14:00, you’ll visit a Pagoda which is also a place for worshipping Zen Master Tinh, a well-known physician in Vietnamese traditional medicine. Built during the Ly dynasty, the pagoda was restored in the 14th century. The pagoda was rebuilt on a large scale from the late 17th century to the early 18th century and was classified as a national relic in 1974. This place is also a well-known relic where many national treasures are kept, including ancient Buddhist statues, large bells, and stone steles.
14:30 – 15.00, you’ll visit a Temple which is the official temple built to worship the great physician Tinh in his hometown. It is not known what year the temple was built, but based on the architectural relics that can still be identified in the 17th century, there is a solid temple with delicate carvings.
16:00 – 16:30, you’ll take the day train for an hour back to Hanoi.
17:30 – 18:00, you’ll arrive at Hanoi railway station and be dropped off Long Bien Homestay for check in.
19.00, enjoy the dinner with family in the homestay.
Day 2: Hanoi- Outskirt 20Km (B,L)
6.00- 6.30, Free and easy to do morning exercise at the park nearby the home.
7.30, Have a breakfast and ready to do a new short trip for half day.
9.00, get on the ferry to cross red river around 10 minutes. Greatly know that it’s best way (shortcut) to go for the locals as well as business people doing everyday, then visit the countryside, we have a good chance to take some nice photos as well as know about rice farming and rural life in Vietnam, know how local people’s lives unfold – from farmers working on their fields and gardens (wet rice cultivation).
10.30, Take a walk to visit ancient citadel and temples, was the first independent capital of the Vietnamese kingdom and heard the love story from our guide , then drive back Hanoi.
12.00, enjoy authentic lunch with the guide
14.00- 15.00, finish your trip in your hotel and say goodbye, see you again!
Private tour
| No of travelers | 1 pax | 2-3 pax | 4-10pax | |
| USD/ 1 person | $ 155 | $135 | $ 125 |
*Included:
- English tour guide
- Entrance fee
- Train ticket/ round trip, ferry fee
- Car/ scooter ride
- All meals (B,L,D), drinks
- Homestay Long Bien (Hanoi)
- Laundry service
*Excluded:
- Tips (not compulsory)